Wendy Davis: The Battle for Texas Begins

As Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis (D) announced her historic campaign for governor, the list of arrogant and anachronistic Texas Republicans embarrassing the Lone Star State grew with the ludicrous scene of Texas Republican Rep. Randy Neugebauer berating a park ranger outside the World War II Memorial, falsely blaming her for the Republican government shutdown.

The ranger stood her ground; other workers and vets came to her defense; and Neugebauer staged a humiliating retreat as bystanders cheered the ranger. As Davis announced her campaign to continue her leadership to provide better education to every young Texan, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) offered his latest apology to veterans offended by his comments regarding World War II and was embarrassed during a widely discussed meeting with Senate Republicans, who mostly detest him and told him his fanatic self-promotion was hurting the GOP and raising the risk of a default and new financial crash.

As Davis announced her campaign to create more economic opportunity for all Texans and fair pay for all Texas women, Gov. Rick Perry (R) promised to continue his taxpayer-financed national tour to promote his next embarrassing presidential campaign, which will be even more embarrassing than his widely mocked campaign in 2012.

The Perry promotional tour, which makes Cruz’s vanity campaign look like the new normal for Texas Republicans, involves the crony capitalist governor traveling the nation from Broadway to Hollywood, telling California and New York businesses who pay low wages and poison the environment to come to Texas. Come to Texas, Perry seems to see saying, to pollute Texas air and poison Texas water and underpay Texas workers.

Texas may have an occasional explosion that kills a few Texans here and there, crony capitalists being what they are, but that does not phase the crony capitalist in chief of the Lone Star State.

As Davis announces her campaign to give Hispanics a greater share of the American Dream and a rightful place in our democracy, Texas Republicans attack voting rights, lead the charge for unfair immigration policies, gerrymander Texas Hispanics out of fair representation in Congress, and attack programs that help poor children.

As Davis begins her campaign to lift political standards in Texas, create a new spirit of respect in Texas politics and establish a new standard of integrity in Texas government, her leading Republican opponent, with both eyes looking to the past and crony capitalist practices fueling his campaign fundraising, takes his angry politics throughout the state in what will now become a great battle of the future versus the past in Texas.

Republican Attorney General Greg Abbott will be the GOP nominee for governor and may well be the weakest Republican candidate for governor in modern Texas political history. I predict his partisan outbursts will make him the most politically accident-prone Texas gubernatorial candidate in memory.

As Davis begins her campaign to lift Texas to new heights, she is a fighting underdog with perhaps a 40 percent chance of prevailing. But Davis is the leader of a great and uplifting movement for change in Texas, while Abbott is the tired champion of a corrupted Texas Republican Party whose leading voices divide and embarrass the Lone Star State.

Davis is the future of Texas and is destined to triumph; the only question is when. Abbott speaks for the dead hand of the past in a Texas Republican Party that has become arrogant, anachronistic and corrupt and is headed for a fall.

DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed here are those of the individual contributor(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the LA Progressive, its publisher, editor or any of its other contributors.

About Brent Budowsky

Brent Budowsky served as Legislative Assistant to U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen, responsible for commerce and intelligence matters, including one of the core drafters of the CIA Identities Law. Served as Legislative Director to Congressman Bill Alexander, then Chief Deputy Whip, House of Representatives. Currently a member of the International Advisory Council of the Intelligence Summit. Left government in 1990 for marketing and public affairs business including major corporate entertainment and talent management. He can be reached at brentbbi@webtv.net.

Los Angeles

Michael Krikorian: There may be more doomed locales in town – the coroner’s identification room, a hospice where the only hope is that the end will soon come – but, for a mass gathering of gloom, nothing beats the CJ crowd on a Sunday.